Understanding Lye:

Lye, a caustic chemical, indeed demands utmost respect and careful handling. Its reputation for causing bodily harm is honest, but working with lye becomes safe and manageable with proper precautions, like driving a car or operating a gas stove. For a detailed guide on lye safety, refer to the [Lye Safety Guide](insert link).

You’ve encountered lye before in products like Drano or other drain cleaners. While these products contain sodium hydroxide, they are unsuitable for soapmaking due to additional chemicals. This underscores the importance of sourcing lye from reputable suppliers, such as Bramble Berry, which is 98% pure sodium hydroxide.

Dispelling Myths:

Contrary to dramatic portrayals, lye is not the corrosive substance depicted in movies like Fight Club. The discomfort from lye exposure typically starts with an itch and mild sting, progressing to a more intense sensation with prolonged contact. However, the immediate and severe damage portrayed in movies is not the reality.

Safety First:

When working with lye, safety precautions are non-negotiable:

1. Wear long sleeves, long pants, closed-toed shoes, protective gloves, and eye goggles.
2. Cover your entire body to minimize skin exposure.
3. Consider wearing a mask to avoid inhaling lye fumes, especially when mixing water and lye.

Addressing Lye Fumes:

The exothermic reaction between water and lye generates fumes, and while some soapmakers opt for masks, a well-ventilated room can often suffice. Mixing lye water outside or near open windows is a wise precaution, especially if you live in a small space.

Experienced Perspective:

After two decades of crafting cold-process soap, I can attest to never experiencing a severe lye burn. My worst encounter involved soap batter on a fresh cut, resulting in a stinging sensation that quickly subsided with proper care.

Parting Advice:

Embracing a healthy fear of lye is essential, but it shouldn’t hinder your exploration of cold process soap. Respect the seriousness of working with lye, follow safety guidelines diligently, and don’t let fear be a roadblock to your soapmaking journey.

For further insights and a visual guide to lye safety, refer to the OG Soap Queen TV video (different than the one embedded in this blog), where timeless information on lye safety is shared. Or head to the Bramble Berry Blog to learn more about Lye Safety here.

Remember, while lye demands caution, it’s a fundamental element in the alchemical artistry of soapmaking. With respect and knowledge, you can navigate this aspect of the craft safely and confidently.

The post Mastering Lye Safety: Overcoming Apprehensions and Embracing the Art of Soapmaking appeared first on Soap Queen.

Lye is an inorganic compound that is commonly found in drain cleaners. It is highly caustic and can burn the skin if not handled properly. Working with lye requires long sleeves and pants, close-toed shoes, a well-ventilated room, gloves and eye protection. Before handling lye, make sure to watch this Soap Queen TV video on lye safety. The Lye Safety Guide has more information on how to work with it. You need to be fully prepared and follow every safety precaution before getting started.

Working with lye requires safety gear like goggles, gloves and long-sleeved shirts and pants.

Lye is necessary for the soapmaking process. By definition, soap is a chemical reaction between oil and lye. This reaction is called saponification. During the saponification process, the lye gets used up. That means it is not present in the bars after they’re cured. Read more about saponification in the Where’s the Lye post.

For soapmaking, lye comes in two types. Sodium hydroxide lye is used to make solid cold process soap. Potassium hydroxide lye is used to make liquid soap. Read more about potassium hydroxide here. Both types of lye are dissolved in a liquid, like distilled water or milk. Make sure to always add the lye to the liquid, not the other way around. If the liquid is added to the lye it can cause a volcano-like reaction. You can use our Lye Calculator to find out how much lye and liquid to add to your recipe.

Sodium hydroxide lye is used to make solid soap, and potassium hydroxide lye is used to make liquid soap.

To ensure the lye works properly, we recommend using it within one year of purchasing. It needs to be sealed tightly and stored in a dry place. Lye is hygroscopic, meaning it attracts moisture. If it’s exposed to moisture in the air it won’t be as effective in your recipe, and the soap may not saponify fully. The lye also needs to be kept in a cool place. It may lose its potency if stored in warmer temperatures. In the Soap Queen Lab, the lye is double sealed and stored in a box that is placed on a shelf. At home you can store it in a cupboard, in your garage, etc. Just make sure it’s clearly marked and out of reach of children.

Make sure to store your lye in a cool, dry place to extend the shelf life.

How can you tell if the lye is expired? The first clue is how it looks. Check out the photo below. The expired lye on the left is more of a gray, off-white color than the lye on the right. It is also clumping in several spots because it has absorbed moisture from the air.

Above, the expired lye is shown on the left and the fresh lye is shown on the right. Notice the color difference!

Another clue the lye is expired is how it acts when added to water. When lye is added to distilled water, it gets really hot – up to 200 ° F. Expired lye won’t get nearly as hot. Below, we added 2 ounces of fresh potassium hydroxide lye to 5.3 ounces of distilled water. The fresh lye was about 141 ° F when it was added to the water and stirred to dissolve. The expired potassium hydroxide lye only reached about 124 ° F. It also had a slightly cloudy appearance, even after thorough stirring.

If your lye solution does not get very hot, it may be expired. Above, the potassium hydroxide lye solution using expired lye only reached 124 ° F. 

If you notice anything odd happening with your lye, don’t use it in cold process soap. Expired lye doesn’t saponify properly, meaning your soap may not reach trace. Read more about trace in this post. This can also happen if you accidentally use potassium hydroxide lye in a solid cold process recipe. Make sure to check the label before adding it to your batch. If the soap does trace, it may not set up properly and can be soft or sticky to the touch.

Using expired lye can mean your soap won’t reach trace.

To avoid any wasted soap, make sure to keep your lye tightly sealed in a cool, dry place. We like to mark all of our bottles in the Soap Lab with the date it is opened. That way we can replace the lye after a year to prevent it from going bad. If you used expired lye in your soap and the soap set up, great! The soap is fine to use, albeit a little extra superfatted. If you used expired lye in your soap and your soap did not set up, there is no way to save the soap because we don’t know exactly how much lye it is short. To dispose of the lye, you can mix it with distilled water and pour it down the drain. Lye is actually found in most drain cleaners. If you’re worried about your drain, you can also contact your local waste management services to find out how to dispose of hazardous materials.

How do you store your lye to ensure it stays fresh? Have you ever used expired lye in your soap before? 

The post Using Expired Lye in Cold Process Soapmaking appeared first on Soap Queen.

Temperature is another important part of the soapmaking process. Having the lye solution and oils around 120-130 ° F is a popular soaping method. That temperature keeps all the hard oils melted, and allows plenty of time to work with your design. Higher soaping temperatures can also promote gel phase. However, if you’re working with milk, the temperatures will need to be lower to keep the liquid from scorching. Read more in the Back to Basics: How Temperature Affects Cold Process Soap post.

With safety and temperature in mind, you can start soaping. The Simple and Gentle Cold Process Soap is a great basic recipe. It is made with coconut oil, olive oil and palm oil, which makes a firm and bubbly bar. It doesn’t have any scent or color, which helps you familiarize yourself with the process before trying additives. It’s also great for anyone who prefers simple bars.

For a simple recipe with a fresh scent, click through the Creamy Orange Cold Process Tutorial. The soap has 10X Orange Essential Oil, which adds a citrusy fragrance and  orange color. The recipe also features coconut oil, olive oil and palm oil. It also has 10% cocoa butter. Cocoa butter adds firming and moisturizing properties to the soap.

In the mood for more simple recipes? You’ll love the Frozen Banana “Ice Cream” recipe. To make it, all you need are frozen bananas and a blender. The frozen bananas develop a creamy texture when blended. It’s a healthy alternative to traditional ice cream. You can eat it plain, or top it with fresh fruit, nuts or chocolate.

This week’s Facebook Photo of the Week is another sweet treat. The soap, made by Kim with Horizon Soaps, is scented with fresh Cherry Blossom Fragrance Oil. It goes perfectly with the pink color palette.

The different shades of pink pop against the white soap. For an elegant touch, the soap is topped with cold process frosting. It’s a gorgeous way to finish the soap. For more pink soap, click through the Layered Lilac Loofah Cold Process Tutorial. Pink Himalayan sea salt adds color and exfoliation to the Pink Salt and Shea Bath Bar.

Above (clockwise, top left) are Kim’s Golden Mermaid Soap, Ocean Rain Soap, Paisley Fruit Cocktail Soap and Red Velvet Cupcake Soap. The paisley pattern on the fruit cocktail soap is stunning. To get the look with melt and pour, click through the Under Your Spell Melt and Pour Clay Tutorial. For another unique soap pattern, check out the Jasmine Lace Cold Process Soap Tutorial.

Find Horizon Soaps
On Facebook
On Etsy

Pink hues are also in this week’s Instagram Photo of the Week by Belle Ame Candles and Soaps. The pink is perfectly swirled with the red, green and white soap. For extra detail, the Southern Peach Rose Soap is topped with petals. Check out more inspirational work on Belle Ame’s Instagram page.

And now, for the winners of both the Pure Honey Show & Share and the When Did I Know blog post. I love seeing all the fun creations you made with your Pure Honey Fragrance Oil sample. The winners, as voted by you, were the Sweet Honey and Oats Melt and Pour by Essentially Meka, Bee My Honey Cupcake by Texoap and entry #19, Oh My Honey Cakes by Louise. Thanks so much to everybody who participated! I was so touched by all the thoughtful responses to the When Did I Know post. I loved hearing about your business successes and areas where you’d like to improve. All the comments were winners, so it was hard to chose! Steffanie, Christi and Christina, be on the lookout for an email =)

Post pictures of your crafty creations on the Facebook page each week for a chance to be featured on the Soap Queen blog and receive a sweet soapy package from Bramble Berry. Photos are chosen based on consensus from the Bramble Berry staff, so the best way to increase your chances of winning is to show us lots of photos!

To participate in the Instagram contest, hashtag your pictures with #soapshare. Each Friday, I will pick a photo on Instagram to be featured on the Bramble Berry Instagram account. 

For those of you who have been featured on the blog, we now have an official “Featured on the Soap Queen” badge! You can include that badge on your website, blog, pictures, etc. To save the badge, click here. =)

The post Facebook and Instagram Photo of the Week (July 18th ~ 24th) appeared first on Soap Queen.

Starting today, we are revisiting the basics of cold process soap with the Back to Basic series. Over the next two weeks, we will cover basic concepts and tutorials designed for the beginner in mind. If you have never made cold process soap before, now is the perfect time! The Back to Basics Soapmaking Kit includes all the ingredients you need to make all 4 projects. If you are a seasoned soaper, it’s always good for a little refresher course. For our first lesson, we are covering the most important part of soaping (other than having fun)…safety! In particular, we are chatting about lye safety, including how to safely mix and handle your lye solution. Pencils ready? Let’s get started!

In order to make soap, oils must emulsify with lye, which begins the saponification process. During this process it’s important to make safety a top priority. Sodium hydroxide lye is an inorganic compound commonly found in drain cleaners like Draino. Sodium hydroxide lye is highly caustic and has the potential to burn the skin. Like driving a car, sodium hydroxide is safe when handled properly. But because lye has the potential to be extremely dangerous,  it’s important to take every safety precaution when making cold process soap.

Sodium hydroxide lye is available in various forms, such as flakes, pellets and powder. To make cold process soap, lye is introduced to a liquid like distilled water. The liquid dissolves the lye and creates a lye solution. Mixing water and lye creates an exothermic reaction that causes a dramatic temperature increase. Adding lye to room temperature water can cause the water to reach temperatures up to 200 ° F. The mixture also creates fumes, which should not be inhaled.

Yes, all this information sounds a little scary, and it’s totally normal to be nervous when first working with lye. Luckily, it’s easy to protect oneself from harm when creating lye solution. Below are my basic lye safety tips. I also recommend watching the How to Make Cold Process Soap: Lye Safety & Ingredients video below.

Wear Proper Safety Gear:  When working with lye, wearing protective safety gear is a must. This includes eye goggles, gloves, long sleeves and long pants. Covering your skin helps protect it from spills or drops of lye solution. Some soapers also like to wear surgical masks to avoid breathing in any fumes.

Mix Lye in an Appropriate Place: The area in which you mix your lye solution should have good ventilation to avoid breathing in lye fumes. When weather allows, some soapers like to mix their lye solution outside to get the best ventilation possible. When indoors, I like to open a few windows or turn on a fan. In addition to ventilation, it’s important to make sure kids, pets and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Some soapers prefer to soap with a ventilator or air filter on to help filter out any fumes that happen during the mixing process.

Always Add Lye to Water (Never Water to Lye!): When mixing water and lye the first step is to measure the correct amounts into separate containers. Once you have the correct amounts for your recipe, the lye should be slowly added to the water. NEVER add water to your lye! Doing so can cause the lye to expand, or erupt, out of the container. A popular rhyme to help you remember the order is: “It’s smarter to add lye to water! Add water to lye and you may die!” It’s definitely an extreme rhyme, but it can be helpful in the beginning! 

Use an Appropriate Mixing Container:  It’s important to mix your lye solution in a durable and safe container. The container should be a sturdy, heat-resistant plastic or glass. I don’t recommend mixing lye solution in a metal container. This is because the lye solution gets incredibly hot. It’s also because lye and some metals produce a hazardous reaction. Sodium hydroxide and aluminum produce hydrogen gases, which can be extremely dangerous. Lye also reacts with tin. To be on the safe side, I avoid metal containers entirely. If using glass, make sure your container is extremely sturdy. I have used Pyrex containers successfully for years, but I know some soapers have had experience with these containers breaking. On occasion, I also use Easy Pour and Mixing Containers to mix my lye, as they are made out of a sturdy plastic. I recommend choosing a container that is large enough to catch any splashes as you stir. To be extra safe, mix your lye and water over a sink in case there are any spills.

Store Lye Appropriately: While waiting for the lye solution to cool to suitable soaping temperatures, make sure your container is clearly labeled “LYE” to ensure nobody touches or tampers with the solution. It’s also helpful to move it to a place where kids or pets will not touch or drink the solution. The jar of lye flakes, pellets or powder should always be kept out of reach of children, and should be properly labeled “POISON,” or “DO NOT TOUCH,” to ensure people do not tamper with the lye.

If You Get Lye on Your Skin: According the sodium hydroxide MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet), if your skin comes in contact with lye, remove any contaminated clothing. Flush immediately with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes. Seek medical attention. If it comes in contact with eyes, flush immediately with water for at least 15 minutes and get medical attention. If inhaled, move to fresh air.

Many soapers keep vinegar on hand, believing it neutralizes lye burns. There is some controversy in the soapmaking community about washing lye burns with vinegar rather than water. Adding vinegar (an acid) to lye (a base) creates a chemical reaction that releases more heat. Additionally, the act of putting vinegar on a lye burn hurts. Just use water as the MSDS sheet suggests.

Although vinegar should not be used to treat lye burns on skin, it can be used as precaution during the cleanup process. A quick wipe of your workspace with a vinegar-soaked rag will neutralize any lye dust that may have gotten on the surface.

Now that you have safely mixed your lye solution, it’s time to make cold process soap. But safety doesn’t stop here! During the entire soap making process, it’s important to wear your safety gear which includes goggles, long sleeves and pants, and gloves. This is because the lye solution still has the potential to irritate the skin once mixed with soaping oils.

Once you pour the lye solution into the oils and begin to emulsify, the saponification process begins. For an in-depth explanation of what saponification means, check out this blog post and Soap Queen TV video. As the saponification process develops, the lye solution becomes less caustic. Raw soap batter is not as dangerous as pure lye water, but it can still irritate the skin. Wearing saftey gear while soaping helps avoid any contact with the soap batter. If soap batter touches the skin, you may not notice until several minutes later when your skin begins to tingle and burn. Quickly wash away any soap batter on the skin with water and a gentle soap. Once  saponification is complete, all lye molecules have been transformed into soap and will not harm the skin.

The soap above has reached a thin trace. If you were to get the mixture on your skin, wash it off immediately under cool water for several minutes until the itching or burning subsides. 

After you’re done soaping, it’s time to wash your dishes. Because the soap will still irritate the skin, leave your gloves on while washing any soaping dishes. I recommend wiping out any excess soap with a paper towel, then washing your dishes in the sink with hot water and grease-cutting soap like Dawn. If you want to avoid washing oils down the sink, you may prefer the “garbage bag clean up method.” Read about each clean up method in the Soapy Session Clean Up Guide.

Making cold process soap is extremely rewarding and fun. During my entire “soaping lifetime,” I have never experienced a serious lye burn. I have experienced both lye water and soap batter on my skin, but was able to wash it off right away with no serious harm done. The worst injury I ever experienced while soaping was when I got fresh soap in a cut on my hand…ouch! I attribute my soaping good fortune to always taking the extra steps to ensure safety for myself and people around me. Much like wearing a seat belt when driving a car, proper safety precautions are the first step in creating homemade soap. What steps do you take to ensure you are soaping safely?  I would love to hear your input!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for our first cold process recipe, a Simple & Gentle Cold Process recipe. It’s the perfect soap for somebody who has never tried cold process soaping before.

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